Dudley: Leader,
guide and philosopher

He
named others for the office but it was the Government Parliamentary Group that
demanded his choice. When he retired from politics in 1953 and absorbed himself
in the Temperance Movement again it was the Party that sought his leadership.

M.
B. Dassanayake - DN Thu Apr 12 2007

Dudley
Senanayake, the second Prime Minister of Sri Lanka died on April 13, 1973,
after a brief illness and was laid to rest on April 21.

Dudley Senanayake

A MAN
OF THE PEOPLE: Dudley Senanayake was a man for all seasons, even paying homage
to him reminds us sadly that we ourselves are a Nation only seasonally; always
in the winter of some personal tragedy.

On
April 12, 1973, we lost a great leader, guide and philosopher. During the long
years I knew him, I found him a fully integrated personality.

There
was no conflict in his spiritual and political values. Dudley Senanayake, by
the light of his own political vision, stood for the unity of this country, for
an open society and for the economic emancipation.

No
monument to him can possibly be finer or more enduring than our own renewed
dedication to these ideals. Those who knew him to be a deeply religious man.
Certainly, not in the conventional manner. He died without achieving one
purpose in his life. His desire was to retire from politics and enter the
Sangha.

As a
child he had his religious training under the great scholar Palane Sir
Vajiragnana Nayake Thera. He had widely read books on Buddhism and Buddhist
Philosophy.

He
was a reluctant politician; therefore a most forceful one. He did not seek
office, fame or popularity. These things pursued him. After the death of his
father, Right Honourable D. S. Senanayake, the first Prime Minister of the
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, at the age of 41, when he became
Prime Minister, in fact, it was thrust on him.

He
named others for the office but it was the Government Parliamentary Group that
demanded his choice. When he retired from politics in 1953 and absorbed himself
in the Temperance Movement again it was the Party that sought his leadership.

He
had no false airs. There was a simplicity and modesty which endeared him to us.

Late
in the evening wearing a sarong and a banian when he lounged in the small
office-room upstairs at ‘Woodlands’ - that was the greatest moment in his life.
Thence he was at ease, whether he was discussing a complex, political problem
or just gossiping.

He
liked golf, he liked his food, he liked the company of his friends, all these
things he enjoyed with zest. Perhaps the years he enjoyed most were the years
out of office. His camera and his car were his fondest worldly goods, but in
office his leisure loving man worked like a precision machine.

There
was no day he worked less than 12 hours. Often his schedule extended to 16 - 18
hours. Whatever he did he was a dedicated man. There was one thing that he
would not forgive - not keeping appointments. He timed everything, his day as
well as the nation’s economic endeavour.

That
is how within three years he succeeded in raising Sri Lanka’s self-sufficiency
in rice from 40 to 75 per cent. In 1961 after the landslide victory by the
‘Mahajana Eksath Peramuna’ the Kandy Municipal Council Elections were held and
I was nominated by him to contest the ‘Deiyannewela Ward’ against an M.E.P.
stalwart in late Mr. T. B. Tennekoon, who was the Minister of Social Services,
and the sitting Member for well over 20 years.

He
was an intimate friend of mine and a person who was respected by the rural
masses as he moved freely with them. There were five candidates but Tennekoon
won comfortably.

Soon
after Elections I wrote to Mr. Senanayake and pointed out the difficulties I
faced due to the misdeeds of some of the candidates and he replied by letter
dated 3rd March, 1961, stating - “I am sorry to hear about some of the misdeeds
of some of the candidates and about the difficulties you suffered, but I am
however, encouraged by the fact that you have not lost your faith in the Party.

Please
remember that we deal with human beings, and as such, they have their
weaknesses. In all Parties we find individuals with these human weaknesses.
Whilst trying our utmost to correct these we have in certain circumstances in
the greater interests to try to put up with some of these weaknesses. I thank
you for bringing these matters to my notice.”

He
possessed these human and straightforward qualities which present day
politicians do not possess. The lasting monument to him would be the Gal Oya
Scheme. I have heard from Mr. Senanayake that when the blueprints were
presented to him the American Engineers had told him that there was a thousand
and one risk regarding the height of the dam.

“Do
not take the risk, raise the dam”, he said. It did not take a thousand years.
But for his foresight, in the unprecedented floods of 1958, the dam would have
been washed away bringing disaster to a greater part of the Eastern Province.

If
Gal Oya Valley today produces a quarter of Sri Lanka’s rice his dream was to,
in the great tradition of Mahasen, Parakramabahu and other great Sinhala Kings,
to make Sri Lanka self-sufficient in food.

He
was denied this opportunity by his defeat in 1970. But he lived to see his
polices vindicated. His very opponents were forced to accept his policies. The
Mahaweli Project, World Bank Aid - these things, decried a few years ago, are
acclaimed today.

If I
was a devoted follower of him, it was not blind faith that made me tread his
trail. In politics he was a pragmatist. While he abhorred the concentration of
wealth in a few individuals he equally refused to contribute to theories of
regimentation.

With
his associates and friends he discussed matters. He listened to them, he
debated, and therefore, at the end the convictions were our own. He was shy,
sensitive but a proud man. The whole nation knows how he carried himself with
dignity and majesty. Most of us are still benumbed by the shock of his death.

He
passed away bothering none. The nation was on holiday. The greater part of the
nation had with his free measure of rice, the Sinhalese New Year’s first meal -
on April 12, 1973, the day this patriot passed away.

Senanayake’s
death, coinciding as it did with the Sinhala and Tamil New Year and with
Easter, saw a vast mass of our people dressed in a common colour, in the simple,
immaculate and neutral white.

Not
all the tears which were shed when he died nor all the hymns and hosannas that
were recited are of much use to him and to us unless we pluck from his own
life, from the nettle of things said, done and half-done, of achievements and
failures, some meaning, something which can endure.

Island
Features Oct 22 2000

(This
is an extract from the book Don Stephen Senanayake, the first Prime Minister of
Sri Lanka by H. A. J. Hulugalle, the second edition of which was launched on
the 20th of October, the birth anniversary of D. S Senanayake. The first
edition was published quarter century ago.)

Don
Stephen Senanayake was born on 20th October 1884, at Botale, a village in the
Hapitigame Korale of the Negombo district in the Western Province. The name of
the village has nothing to do with the colloquial Sinhalese word, with the same
spelling and pronunciation, meaning ‘bottle’ derived from the Dutch ‘bottel’.
The village was named after ‘Bodhi-tale’—the place of the Bodhi or Bo tree.

One
of Senanayake’s ancestors may have been in the party of Buddhists who in
ancient times brought a sapling of the old Bo tree at Mahaiyangana to be
planted at the shrine of the good King Sri Sangabo at Attanagalla. On their
last stop before reaching Attanagalla, they remained for the night at Botale.
In the morning they found that the sapling had taken root in the soil where
they had left it. There is of course no evidence to prove that the venerable Bo
tree one now sees at Botale was the direct descendant of the tree at
Mahaiyangana—traditionally one of the places in Sri Lanka visited by the
Buddha. There are many, however, who believe that it was.

Only
a few miles from the much larger village of Ambepussa, on the Colombo-Kandy
road, Botale, stood on the frontier between the Sinhalese kingdom ruled from
Kandy and the maritime districts held by the Portuguese. It was often an
outpost of the Portuguese during their battles with the Sinhalese. The
Portuguese historian, De Queyroz, in his ‘Conquest of Ceylon’, published in
1688, says that the Portuguese under Captain Francesco Pimental at Attanagalla
made themselves dreaded in such a manner that, not having more to do, they went
to encamp at Botale, a league further. The Sinhalese, for their part, erected a
stronghold at Dedigama. In 1598 the quarters were shifted to "the pagoda
at Botale, a place suited for assaults, with great loss to the enemy".

Peasants

The
village of Botale seems to have been known for a sturdy breed of peasants. It
was said that men from the area had constructed the tunnel through which the
Sinhalese Prince Vidiya Bandara, who was a prisoner of the Portuguese, escaped
with the help of the Franciscan friars who had their monastery at a spot near
Queen’s House in Colombo where the President of the Republic of Sri Lanka now
resides.

Stephen
Senanayake’s father, Don Spater Senanayake, came of a land-owning family. The
prefix ‘Don! had been used, since Portuguese times, by the low country gentry,
as it had been in the Iberian Peninsula, where it originated Don Spater’s
father, Don Bartholomew, was born in Botale in 1847 where the ancestral house
still stands. It was for Don Stephen a hideaway to rest from the burdens of
office or think out a solution to some knotty problem. It was here that he
mixed freely with the country folk and shared his thoughts and aspirations with
them. They brought their problems as well as their disputes to him and it is
said that an aggrieved party in the village rarely resorted to a court of law,
for Senanayake was judge and arbitrator in all causes which they referred to
him.

Don
Spater finished his schooling at St Thomas’ College, Matale. He married a Miss
Senanayake (no relation) from Kehelella which was in the same district as
Botale. They had three sons, of whom Stephen was the youngest, and a daughter.
After the father’s death the four children remained close to their mother who
was a deeply religious woman.

The
Senanayakes of Botale were rooted to the land but Don Spater saw possibilities
in mining plumbago (graphite) for which there was a growing demand in Europe,
the United States and Japan. Ceylon plumbago was regarded by experts as
"so much superior to any other turned out". It was mined in many
parts of the island but chiefly in the Kurunegala district, where the
Dodangaslande, Ragedera and Maduragoda mines were situated, and in the Kelani
Valley where the Bogala mine was the largest. Don Spater’s contemporaries and
rivals in the plumbago business included such well known merchants as Jacob de
Mel. Mudaliyar D. C. Attygalle, N. D. P. Silva, D. D. Pedris, H. J. Peiris, M.
A. Fernando, John Clovin de Silva, U. D. S. Gunasekera and H. Bastian Fernando,
all of whom left considerable fortunes. Stephen grew to manhood when the
plumbago trade was booming and even as a school boy he knew a great deal about
the ‘black gold’ and the men who dug it from his father’s mines.

The
massive volume entitled Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon, published in
1907 by Arnold Wright for Lloyds’ Greater Publishing Company of London, has the
following reference to Don Spater Senanayake: "After being educated at
various schools in Ceylon, he started business on his own account in the
plumbago-mining line at the early age of eighteen years. He now carries on
business as a plumbagominer, merchant, estate proprietor and general planter.
His offices are situated at Siri Medura, Castle Street, Cinnamon Gardens, and
his stores are located at Kitulwatte, Kanatte, Colombo."

The
article refers to the modern machinery installed in Don Spater’s mines and
estates and states that the graphite extracted the refrom is collected at
Ambepussa and forwarded to Colombo. It also lists the names of his mines and
coconut estates. Two pages of pictures go with the article, including the
family group with the striking figure of Don Spater, in Mudaliyar’s dress, with
the three sons standing behind their seated parents and sister, Mrs. F. H. Dias
Bandaranaike. Don Spater Senanayake was given the rank of Mudaliyar, not as a
Government official but as "a worthy citizen", by Governor Sir Joseph
West Ridgeway.

At
the end of the nineteenth century, many Sinhalese families interested
themselves in the public life of the country. Seats in the Legislative Council
were filled by nomination by the Governor. In 1839, the only Sinhalese member
was G. Phillipse Panditaratna. He was succeeded by his kinsman J. G. Dias, the
eldest brother of Sir Harry Dias who succeeded him in his turn. On Sir Harry’s
retirement, James Dehigama, a Kandyan lawyer, was nominated. The seat went back
to the family circle with the nomination of James D’Alwis, whose daughters
married Christoffel Obeyesekere and Felix R. Dias. He was followed by J. P.
Obeyesekere and Albert de Alwis, in turn. The succession was broken by the
nomination of A. de A. Seneviratne, but restored by the entry of Christoffel
Obeyesekere in 1889. In that year an additional seat was provided to represent
the Kandyan Sinhalese and T. B. Panabokke, who had been Obeyesekere’s classmate
in the Colombo Academy (later the Royal College), was nominated. It was not
uncommon for a Kandyan in Government service or one who had retired as a
Ratemahatmaya (chief headman) to be selected, as was the case with Hulugalle
Adigar, who was succeeded by his kinsman, T. B. L. Moonemalle. When the pattern
was about to be broken, Mr. (later Sir) Christoffel Obeyesekere, no doubt irked
by the new spirit of nationalism, said on a well known occasion that much of
the trouble in the country was due to "nobodies" trying to become
"somebodies".

D. S.
Senanayake was the first member of the Senanayake family of Botale to enter the
Legislative Council though his older brother, ‘F. R.’, could have at any time
won a seat by election and was always a powerful influence behind the scenes
until his premature death.

Family
influence was also an important factor in the choice of Tamil members. The
first Tamil to be nominated to the Legislative Council was A. Coomaraswamy
Pulle. He was followed by Simon Casie Chitty. Governor Stuart Mackenzie spoke
of "his extra-ordinary, perfect attainment by a foreigner of the English
language so difficult to all foreigners". The nomination of
Edirimanasinghe Mudaliyar in 1850 gave a long run to a single family with its
roots in Manipay. His brother-in-law Ponnambalam Mudaliyar was the father of P.
Coomaraswamy, P. Ramanathan and P. Arunachalam, all three of whom were
nominated members of the Legislative Council at various times. Edirimanasinghe
Mudaliyar had been succeeded by Sir Muttu Coomaraswamy, another uncle of the
three Ponnambalam brothers, J. R. Weinman, the witty chronicler of this period
said that "the major aim of every Councillor is to keep the thing going in
the family".

With
the introduction of the electoral system of representation, many descendants of
the above-named found their way into the legislature through the front door.
This is, of course, not surprising. As a recent writer has said, "a
democratic political system cannot make elites superfluous, though it may
ensure their rapid and regular circulation".

A
biography serves generally as an assessment of an eminent person. An assessment
of D. S. Senanayake has to start by examining authenticity in the words of O.
M. Green, one of the best known British writers on international affairs in the
nineteen forties and nineteen fifties that "under Senanayake Ceylon was
the most untroubled country in Asia".

At
that time, this country enjoyed one of the highest levels of literacy in Asia,
compulsory and free education, low infant mortality and a relatively efficient,
largely free national health service, a University which was recognised and
accepted as having standards comparable with the best in Asia and the world, a
model Parliamentary democracy with universal adult franchise, a well run civil
administration and a competent judiciary. During this period "there was
tranquility in the land".

How
much of this was because of the wise leadership of D. S. Senanayake? This is
the question which I think my father H. A. J. Hulugalle was trying to look at
in his book "Don Stephen Senanayake, the first Prime Minister of Sri
Lanka" (first published in 1975).

The
author had observed Senanayake for 30 years from a very close perspective. He
wrote his book twenty three years after Senanayake’s death, as such he had the
distance to look at his subject also in the context of the events that unrolled
subsequently.

What
was it that took Senanayake into politics? Senanayake was a natural leader. He
came from a village which the author says had "a breed of sturdy
peasants". The family would have thrown up leaders from the time of the
Portuguese. Though deeply steeped in tradition and religion, which the village
of Botale had nurtured among its people, the Senanayake family would have
maintained a working relationship with the foreigners, which would have given
an exposure to the wider world. That could explain adopting the "Don"
as one of their names. Leadership qualities would have led to money and money
to the establishment of Mudliyar Don Spater’s Serugollawa Walauwa, from which
the future leader came.

At
school Senanayake did not excel at his studies. The education which Senanayake
had with Warden Buck and subsequently, with Warden Stone would have nurtured
his inherent qualities which were reflected in later life. He was witness to
Buck’s famous farewell speech "You have learned the best lessons from STC
(St. Thomas’s College)... true manliness and truth, courage, purity and all
those things that make a man a gentleman..." The college had inculcated a
self confidence to this sturdy villager from Botale, which enabled him to deal
with statesmen of the highest intellectual levels and to be admired by them for
his intrinsic noble and decent character traits.

What
was the hallmark of his success? He was trusted. This is what Soulbury wrote
"...It was also clear to me that he was a man filled with that sense of
intense patriotism and love of his homeland which is characteristic of the
members of long settled and ancient families. From the very first I felt that I
could trust him implicitly — so that as the saying goes — "I could put my
shirt on him". The trust in him was also shared by the hundreds of
thousands of simple folk who paid their respects at his funeral. They felt, to
use the words — of the Mahanayake’s of Malwatte and Asgiriya, that "the
nation was orphaned".

Even
one of his most formidable opponents Dr. N. M. Perera had this to say about
Senanayake’s management of the Cabinet: "...It is a tribute to his
personal character that he held together with such adroitness a team so long
and in such trying circumstances. Only his unrivalled knowledge could have
enabled him to steer so certainly and so steadily and maintain such an even
keel".

Senanayake’s
unrivalled knowledge was what he had acquired on his own. Senanayake had a deep
love for the country and faith in its people. This obviously was a strong
motivating force. However, he realized as a practical man that mere zeal to
serve the people without knowledge would get one nowhere. His sparse academic
attainments and his sole reliance on his intelligence and common sense made him
seek the best advice which he could access on every subject he tackled.

It is
amazing how he commanded such respect from a team of ministers, advisors and
officials of such enormous talent and ability and inspire them to work for the
good of the country. There were definite attributes in his personality, which
enabled this outcome. They were his exceptional intelligence and dedication to
hard work, his humility and his great personal charm.

As
Agriculture was his special commitment he studied the subject from every
aspect. In 1934, he formulated a blueprint under the heading Agriculture and
Patriotism. Here he set out his ideas for immediate action and defined a course
for a long term plan. The success of his vision was the achievements of the
schemes to harness to the full resources of Minneriya, Kalawewa, Topawewa,
Giritale and other tanks such as Kahagama colony of 17,000 acres, which came
under the Balalu Wewa irrigation system and the Minipe colony. Minneriya with
its colonies Hingurakgoda and Hathamune were designed and constructed to bring
50,000 acres of virgin wild under cultivation. Of course, he would be
remembered for Gal Oya, with its reservoir capacity of 770,000 acre feet and
designed for the better utilisation of a quarter of a million acres of
irrigable and high land, which has been posthumously named after him as the
Senanayake Samudra. When full the Senanayake Samudra contains thirty times as
much water as is held within the breakwater of the Colombo Harbour.

Gal
Oya was financed almost entirely with national funds. Of the total investment
of 67.2 million dollars, less than 1.6 million dollars came from foreign aid.
Apart from Agriculture and particularly Gal Oya, Senanayake is remembered as
the Father of the Nation for the manner in which he achieved independence.
Senanayake was always realistic enough to know his limitations. He was not
negotiating from a position of strength.

On
the subject of the approach to achieving independence, there were alternatives
which Senanayake could have selected. A colony could attain this by resorting
to an armed struggle or by persuasion. Non-cooperation as in India could have
been another alternative. Senanayake realized that unless such non-cooperation
was highly disciplined it would have led to violence, as Gandhi discovered. If
that were to be the case achieving one’s objectives peacefully would have
ceased. Senanayake opted for the course of persuasion and that was his secret
for leading the country to independence without bloodshed. His personality
naturally, was an asset. It was invaluable at this juncture.

The
author does say that independence came as a culmination of a long drawn out
process and as a result of the efforts of several national leaders. He also
commends the goodwill of enlightened British statesmen for their contribution.
However, there is no doubt that the catalyst that gelled it all was D.S.

Senanayake’s
ideas on education, parity in the use of the national languages, on the
cooperative movement, Indo-Ceylon relations, citizenship for persons of Indian
origin, foreign policy, the importance of a quality public service all
contributed to creating the correct environment for a peaceful nation. He came
to realize that a correct balance in politics was the statecraft needed for a
well run society. The highest priority he gave to the unity of the country and
its people and economic development which he considered the cornerstones for
the survival of the nation. For this he spared no effort.

The
public service at every level including the armed forces had a happy mix of the
communities. In the commercial fields the minorities played a significant role.

Senanayake’s
contribution to confirm O. M. Green’s assertion comes out pregnantly in the
facts that are presented by the author. One could quibble on non-issues but
overall the fact remained that the country was a model for the developing
world.

Reading
of this book should however, not seduce one to a nostalgia of the past. The
political dynamics have changed. We have to understand them as D.S. understood
and mastered the dynamics of his day, and was proven correct by "the
tranquility in the land" in his time. Then a Prime Minister could go on horseback
through the streets of Colombo without any danger to his life. Today the only
exercise a Minister can take is walking on a treadmill at home

Don
Stephen Senanayake

By
Ranee Mohamed – Sunday Leader Mar 17 2002

Minister
of Environmental Affairs Rukman Senanayake remembers him. But anecdotes and
incidents, he can barely remember. For he was a toddler when the Rt. Hon. D.S.
Senanayake, his grandfather, was making history in the then Ceylon. But his
older brother Ranjit remembers a few visits he made to his grandfather's, the
broad-shouldered and tall D.S. He remembers as a child being taken to the farm
at Ambewela and being made to drink fresh milk, which he did not like very
much.

The
Senanayakes of today - Devinda, Ranjini, Ranjit, Rukman and Yasmin Nilmini are
children of Robert Parakrama Senanayake, one of the two sons of D.S. The other
son was Dudley Shelton Senanayake who was twice prime minister of Ceylon.

Ranjit
Senanayake married Suwanitha, the granddaughter of D.C. Senanayake and they
have one child, 28 year old Vasantha Senanayake. Vasantha, who cherishes his
ancestry, is however very down to earth and humane in his approach to life.

It
was fifty years ago this week in March, when The Observer reported "Up to
3.30 p.m. today over 500,000 persons had filed past the remains of the late Mr.
D.S. Senanayake at the assembly hall of the house of representatives. At 10.
p.m yesterday the queue stretched over three miles. It wound past along Lower
Lake Road, Elephant House and through Ingham Street in Slave Island to Parsons
Road. The end of the queue was opposite the Regal Theatre. There are tentative
arrangements for the funeral procession of the late leader which is due to
start from Parliament House for Independence Square at 3.p.m. tomorrow.

Policemen
from all parts of the island will be on duty at various points on
the route.

The
story speaks of a pace setting party of twelve army, navy and air force
personnel, a gap for women and children and British service commanders and
detachments of the British navy, army and air force in Ceylon and also
Ceylonese military service commanders.

The
story in The Observer of March 1952 describes the funeral arrangements of Don
Stephen Senanayake, the great statesman of his day, whose death moved the
nation then, as its memory moves the nation today, exactly 50 years later. He
died following a riding accident on March 22, 1952 at the age of 67.

During
his lifetime, through the giant strides he made, he gave this country the pride
of nationhood - he gave it independence.

D.
S., a leader of men, born on October 30, 1884, was educated at S. Thomas' and
excelled in cricket and other sports. H.A.J. Hulugalle in his Life of D.S.
Senanayake however states thus:

The
three Senanayake brothers DC. FR and DS were all educated at STC, which was
then in Mutuwal and their father Don Spater Senanayake had always been
concerned about the education of DS, the youngest of them. DS's school
report showed in a certain class, he had always held the 4th place, and the
father was naturally pleased at this, and was lavish with pocket money for the
boy. Later, he discovered from FR (who later entered Cambridge University) that
there were only four boys in that class and DS was 4th.

When
his father died D.S. was compelled to give up studies at the age of 18 in order
to take charge of his family estate. Thrown among the peasants he was quick to
understand their plight at first hand and was determined to improve their lot.

D.S.
was Ceylon's first minister of agriculture and lands. It gave him this
gentleman-farmer the authority to implement his plans. Never since the days of
the Sinhala kingdom was there so much irrigation and agricultural activity in
the dry zone. Soon, Minneriya, Minipe, Polonnaruwa and several other schemes
had begun to yield the bounty of the earth.

D.S.
Senanayake entered public life when Ceylon was a crown colony ruled by a
foreign power that was not concerned with the aspirations of the people. The
masses had no political rights, poverty and disease were widespread, literacy
was low and life expectancy was short. Ruthlessly exploited for centuries by
three foreign powers, the country's economy had ceased to have any
'blood'

Under
his leadership however, it was possible for the country to cast away all these
adversities and achieve independence. Though he entered the legislature at the
age of 40, his climb to become the dominant political figure of his time and
the architect of great changes in politics and agriculture was itself
remarkable.

He
had little education and few academic qualifications. He was no great orator.
Yet, at a time when the political stage was adorned by men of great talent and
ability, D.S. rose outstripping his elders and peers. Though said to be full of
common sense and disarming reasonableness, he was governed by deliberate,
sometimes ruthless purpose to direct and shape events.

D.S.
had the gift of making friends and influencing people and Lord Attlee, who was
the Labour Prime Minister of Britain at the time Ceylon gained her independence
spoke of 'his great personal charm," while Sir Robert Menzies, the
Australian prime minister of "his singular personal attraction."

Sir
John Kotelawala, one of D.S.'s cabinet colleagues, is reported to have made a
forthright comment when he said, "No one was too small for his attention
if he had the time, and somehow, he would find the time. No man who went to see
him can ever forget the sincerity with which he promised to look into his
grievance."

Despite
his commanding presence and Stalin moustache, D.S. had been the kindliest of
men, and a great lover of children and poor folk. He made the same impression
on foreigners and fellow-countrymen.

It is
50 years since he died, but D.S. has lived in the memory of every Sri Lanka and
has cast a indelible impression that can never erase itself from the history of
Sri Lanka.

His
vision and his endeavours are for all times. They are true today, as they were
50 years ago. For him life was about people, about freedom and about a better
life for all.

For
peace and freedom he strove hard. Then, after the dusty and sometimes bitter
conflicts over communal representation and the balance of power in the
legislature had ended, Senanayake led a united people to the goal of independence.

He
was able to persuade the State Council to accept the Soulbury Constitution, by
a near unanimous vote. He succeeded in winning over the minorities to his way
of thinking and all these were mere steps to his final destination of peace and
freedom.

Fifty
years ago, today, leaders with a vision for a better and peaceful Sri Lanka
strove thus, winning over minorities and being architects of great changes.

Sri
Lankan was fortunate to have had such a leader in the final phase of her
agitation for freedom. The wisdom of Don Stephen Senanayake and the political
philosophy of the UNP have ushered in the freedom we enjoy today.

The
Senanayakes of today

Suwanitha
Senanayake's home down Pahalawela road, Sri Jayawardenepura sprawls quietly to
merge with its unspoiled surroundings. Strangely, it seems to be set in an
environment that could easily be mistaken for one of a bygone era. Greenery,
gravel and grass and an uninhabited immediate neighbourhood provide the ideal
setting to this Senanayake home.

As
one enters the house there is a black and white photograph of the late D.S.
Senanayake standing majestically. It says it is from Briggs studio dated around
1951.

In
this building lives Ranjit and Suwanitha Senanayake and their son Vasantha. But
the memory of D.S. Senanayake is strong and vivid here. Photographs and
documents, books and cuttings, are all reminders of Ranjit's grandfather - the
late Rt. Hon. D.S. Senanayake.

Suwanitha,
is no stranger here. She is the granddaughter of D.C. Senanayake, brother
of D.S.

"My
parents used to visit the Rt. Hon. D.S. Senanayake and I remember driving up to
Temple Trees with my parents. I remember our arrival being announced. But what
I remember most is the Madati tree in the garden to which I ran the moment I
arrived there," she tells me.

Though
Suwanitha was a child at that time, she still remembers the late D.S. "He
loved the children and I remember the small cowgirl suit he bought for me when
he came from overseas. He bought similar suits for the all the little girls in
the family. He appeared tough and rough, but to us he was so kind.

Remembering DS – Sunday Times Mar 16 1997

Father
of the Nation and first Prime Minister of independent Ceylon D.S. Senanayake
died on March 22,1952 after a riding accident . Sir John Kotelawala rightly
observed at that time that his death was a national calamity. Today 45 years
later, we take a peek at the pages of a collector's note book and publish
extracts from the British press which ran the story of the premier's fall and
Radio Ceylon's SOS for a British surgeon

Flight by Sir Hugh
Cairns cancelled

Last-minute Drama at Abingdon

Don
Stephen Senananayake, first Prime Minister of Ceylon, died in Colombo today
from head injuries received when he fell from his horse yesterday.

News
of his death came just as one of the world's leading brain surgeons, Sir Hugh
Cairns, of Oxford, was preparing to leave Abingdon R. A. F. Station in a
special plane for Colombo.

Sir
Hugh had first planned to leave at 4.30 a.m. but the flight was cancelled on
Ceylon reports that the Prime Minister's condition was "now such as to
make it not worth while."

Then
came news of an improvement in his condition, and it was decided that Sir Hugh
should after all undertake the flight. The plane was due to take off at 11 a.m.

The
cancellation of the flight came when Sir Hugh, with Mr. Walpole S. Lewin,
assistant neurological surgeon at the Radcliffe Infirmary, were ready to step
aboard the plane.A Hastings aircraft had arrived from Topcliffe (Yorkshire) at
10.15 a. m. and the station staff at once began filling the seven tanks of the
plane, which carries 3,000 gallons of petrol. Twenty-two parachutes and 22
"Mae Wests" were taken aboard.

The
High Commissioner for Ceylon (Mr. Wijeyaratne) arrived with his two sons, Cuda,
aged 29, a medical student in London, and Tissa, aged 18 a law student at the
Inner Temple who had come to see their father off. Then, just before 11
o'clock, Group-Capt. C. A. Watts, the station O.C., told waiting pressmen and
photographers that a report had been received that the Prime Minister was dead.

Ten
minutes later the station orderly officer, Flt.-Lieut S. G. Brown, announced
that the death was confirmed. Sir Hugh and his party later returned to Oxford.

Abingdon Hustle

The
cancellation of the flight planned for 4.30 a.m. was made on Mr. Churchill's
personal orders from 10, Downing Street, after a message from Colombo that
there was "no hope" for Mr. Senanayeke.

It
was shortly before midnight when a telephone rang in the office of the Senior
Duty Officer at Abingdon R.A.F. Station, and an Air Ministry official at the
other end told Flt.-Lieut. Imray that a Hastings transport plane was flying
from Topcliffe R.A.F. Station, in Yorkshire, to pick up Sir Hugh and his party
at 4.30. Immediately the sleeping station, woke to life as members of the
emergency crew for the control tower as well as refuelling crew were roused
from sleep and told to take up their stations. One airman just going on leave,
was called back and another, clad only in his shirt and boots, ran to rouse
others, and in a short time arrangements were complete. However, at 2.30 a.m.
the telephone rang again and another Air Ministry message was received
cancelling the arrangements on the instructions of the High Commissioner.

The
ages of the Ceylon High Commissioner's sons were erroneously reported. Tissa
was 29 and Cuda 18.

Senanayake, friend of
Britain

Farmer who was once a wrestler

A
wrestler who became the first Prime Minister of Ceylon, Don Stephen Senanayake
- "Jungle John" - led his country in its campaign for Dominion
status.

But
it was not until he was 42-25 years ago - that Senanayake took an interest in
politics says the British United Press.

A
giant of a man, he spent the biggest part of his life farming. Apart from being
a wrestler, he was also a good boxer and a hard hitter on the cricket field. He
was educated at St. Thomas' Church of England College and although a devout
Buddhist later became a director of the school.

He
first took part in public life as a temperance reformer but his brother
Frederick the first leader of the Ceylon Independence Party, was then the
politician of the family.

In
1925 Frederick died and Don Stephen was called from his farm to take his
brother's place. He entered the Legislative Assembly and, as a farmer, became
Minister of Agriculture, a post he held for 16 years.

Ousted Corruption

As
head of the Independence Party, he worked to give his country Dominion status.
In 1946 came success. The British Government framed the new Constitution.

Senanayake,
who had become leader of the State Council had the biggest say in Ceylon in the
drafting - and in the following year he became the first Prime Minister of the
country.

But
the struggle was not over. He sought to rid public life of corruption and a
judicial inquiry he set up in 1949 recommended the dismissal of six high
officials.He set up new hydro-electric stations, developed new mineral
resources and strengthened the country's trading position.

Many
have been the tributes paid to this friend of Britain, but none more accurate
than that once paid by Lord Soulbury Governor-General of Ceylon who
said:"He is a man of unfailing courtesy, kindness, tolerance and moderation
and a statesman of judgment: sagacity and foresight."

'Life-or-death' Radio
call to save injured Premier

Daily Mirror Reporter

At
ninety-second intervals, a life-or-death call for help for an injured Premier
was broadcast 6,500 miles to London last night.

"It
concerns the health and life and death of our Prime Minister. If he cannot
telephone, ask him to cable or use some other means of communication."

The
Premier, Don Stephen Senanayake, had been thrown by a bolting horse, and still
was unconscious.

B.B.C.
monitors at Caversham picked the call up. An official passed it to Sir Hugh,
who is a leading brain specialist. The G.P.O. at once opened a radio-telephone
link between Oxford and Colombo.

And
late last night a spokesman for Mr. Churchill said: "Every effort is being
made to fly Sir Hugh out as soon as possible - in the fastest plane
available."

By telephone
from the hospital where Mr. Senanayake lay, Dr. Peiris told the Daily Mirror:
"I understand that Mr. Churchill is providing a jet plane so that Sir Hugh
can fly here straight-away to operate.

High
British Government officials meanwhile worked on arrangements for sending an
assistant, two nurses, and the High Commissioner for Ceylon - Sir Cecil Syers -
with him.

Minutes
after the call was monitored, short-wave enthusiasts all over England who had
heard it, were telephoning the B.B.C. And a cable telling of the SOS came from
Sierra Leone, West Africa.

One
of the first short-wave men to ring up Broadcasting House was Mr. A. Hare of
Lyndhurst avenue, Twickenham.

Sir
Hugh, 55, returned to Oxford a few days ago, after convalescing - he had
undergone an operation.

Sixty-seven-year-old
Mr. Senanayake, an expert horseman, somersaulted twice after he was thrown.

By P.M. Senaratne

In
the sphere of Sri Lankan politics, the Senanayakes from Botale Walauwa,
Mirigama, have continued to be a significant factor. They have represented the
Sri Lankan legislature for three generations.

The
advent of this family into the socio-political arena dates as far back as the
1920s. A significant contribution was made by F.R. Senanayake in propelling
organizations such as the Y.M.B.A and the Temperance Movement, the latter which
was introduced to him by his father, Mudaliyar Don Spater Senanayake.

Despite
the hard work pertaining to much needed social reforms of the time by the three
Senanayake brothers (D.C, F.R. and D.S), whether it be through the Lanka
Mahajana Sabha where D.S. and D.C. were prominent members or through the
Y.M.B.A. which F.R. and brother D.C. heavily financed and tirelessly worked
for, the direct involvement in politics and affairs of the state fell upon
D.S's shoulders. There were two reasons for this. Firstly F.R. (Frederick
Richard) expired while on a pilgrimage to Buddha Gaya in 1925, and D.C. (Don
Charles) who was known to be the man behind the scenes shunned the limelight.
The youngest brother D.S. therefore became the natural choice.

1931
proved to be a significant year in the history of Ceylon and that of the
Senanayake family. It was the year that the country gained universal franchise
and the elections to the State Council were held. Don Stephen Senanayake was
returned as the uncontested representative of the Minuwangoda electorate. He
had the distinction of being the first Minister of Agriculture in the
post-independence era. During this period D.S. achieved phenomenal success. The
numerous irrigational schemes completed by him and the many colonization
settlements established with a view to securing Sri Lanka's agro-industry and
self-sufficiency in essential foods, is largely if not wholly the brainchild of
D.S. The Senanayake Samudra, the Parakrama Samudra, Nachchaduwa, Padaviya,
Minipe, Minneriya, are just a few of the projects undertaken by him.

When
in 1936, Sir D.B. Jayatilleke decided to accept the post as Ceylon's
representative in India, his position as Leader of the House, in the State
Council fell vacant and the natural choice for leadership fell on D.S. In the
very same year Dudley Shelton Senanayake had returned from England, when he had
not only obtained a natural science tripos at the University of Cambridge,
which was followed by an M.A,. but had also qualified as a Barrister-at-Law.
Immediately after his return, he had been coaxed by friends, family and
constituents to contest the Dedigama electorate, in which constituency, the
Senanayakes owned considerable estates. Dudley only 24 at the time was elected
with a majority of 8,299 votes. The Dedigama result was as follows.

Following
his victory, he stated "I saw that those who sought election were all
new-comers to politics. As I had decided to devote my whole life to politics, I
saw here an opportunity to start early. I saw no reason why my youth should be
a hindrance to an early beginning."

1948
proved a momentous year for Sri Lanka and the Senanayake family. The country
was metamorphising from colony to sovereign state, and the Senanayakes, father
and son were to contest their respective seats Mirigama and Dedigama. D.S. who
lead the U.N.P to victory defeated his opponent with over 16,000 votes, polling
in excess of 26,000 votes. Dudley too met with success.

After
the formation of the first Parliament in 1948, under the premiership of the
grand old Senanayake, Dudley assumed the office of Minister of Agriculture. In
1952, D.S expired after suffering a stroke while riding on the Galle Face
Green. Lord Soulbury in his capacity as Governor-General appointed Dudley as
the new Prime Minister. This lead to some controversy amongst senior U.N.P
members, especially Sir John Kotalawela. In order to quell the various
accusations hurled by certain factions, Dudley acted both honourably and
democratically by immediately dissolving Parliament and calling for fresh
elections. The outcome was an overwhelming victory for the U.N.P, which gained
54 seats and a personal one for Dudley securing Dedigama with a massive
majority of 16,000.

Following
the Hartal of 1953, instigated by the opposition Dudley resigned allowing Sir
John to realize his long awaited ambition of becoming Ceylon's Prime Minister.
Sir John himself was married to D.S's sister's daughter and Dudley's first
cousin Euphemia. Quite apart from this connection he was also the son of Mrs.
F.R. Senanayake's sister.

Dudley
re-entered politics subsequently, and his final period as Prime Minister from
1965-1970 was by far the most significant. A unique achievement during these
years was the strong co-operation he received from several parties such as the
M.E.P., The Federal Party, and other independent groups. Unlike most coalitions
the 1965-1970 Government functioned smoothly without dissension and this is
generally known to be one of the most peaceful periods in Sri Lankan
politics.

When
speaking of the Senanayakes and politics one tends to forget Richard Gotabhaya
(R.G). This razor-sharp politician was the eldest son of D.S's older brother
F.R.

His
impact on Sri Lankan politics was enormous. R.G. contested the 1947 election
and was returned as the member for the constituency of Dambadeniya. He served
Ceylon's first Parliament as Deputy Minister of Defence and Foreign Affairs and
in 1952 as Minister for Trade and Commerce. In 1956, on the eve of elections,
he was banished from the UNP on the grounds of criticizing the party. It was at
this point that R.G. posed his challenge to his arch enemy J.R. Jayawardene.
R.G. contested two seats as an independent, his own constituency of
Dambadeniya, and that of J.R's Kelaniya. R.G. was victorious in both and still
holds the distinction of winning two constituencies at an election. In fact the
main election slogan adopted by the opposition in 1956 was "The UNP that
R.G. rejected, the nation shall also reject."

R.G.
continued to serve his Mother Lanka, in the SLFP Government headed by S.W.R.D.
Bandaranaike, as the Minister of Trade. He is still referred to by the
political nickname of 'China Dicky', a reference to his successful negotiations
with China of the bi-lateral rubber-rice pact.

The
third generation Senanayake, Rukman first entered Parliament in 1973 at the
Dedigama by-election, the seat being left vacant after the demise of his
illustrious uncle Dudley. His stint in Parliament was however brief. Today
after much wandering in the political wilderness, he finds himself one of the
UNP's senior most members representing the Polonnaruwa District where he polled
nearly 50,000 votes.

It
may be of incidental interest to note that former minister, General Ranjan
Wijeyratne was a close relative of the Senanayake family. His mother Rosalind
Senanayake was the first cousin of D.S.

Freedom Fighters and
Reformists

By: Joe Segera

The Island - 1st February 1998

While
we prepare to celebrate half a century of Independence, the question could be
asked whether we really fought for our Independence or whether we had no
freedom fighters as such. What this country had were really reformists.

These
most admirable gentlemen wanted only political reforms. And these reforms
culminated with the State Council and the Executive Committee system which was
given to us by the British on the basis of the Donoughmore Commission report.
This report brought in its wake Universal Adult Franchise which came into
effect in 1931.

E. W.
Perera, Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan, Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam, F. R.
Senanayake, D. S. Senanayake, E. W. Jayewardene, H. J. C. Perera, D. R.
Wijewardene and others were men who fought for a greater measure of freedom and
political reforms wider than what prevailed then under the old Legislative
Council. It was the riots of 1915 which stirred our leaders to campaign for
political reforms. These riots which began in Gampola over an incident in which
Muslims and Sinhalese figured spread all over the country. They assumed such
proportions that the then Governor, Sir Robert Chalmers and his Colonial Secretary,
Edward Stubbs mistook it to be a rebellion against the British.

The
fist World War was on and the Governor proclaimed Martial Law and imprisoned
many influential Sinhalese and Sinhalese political leaders such as F. R. And D.
S. Senanayake, A. E. Goonesinha, Boralugoda Ralahamy, the farther of Philip and
Robert Gunawardena, Capt. D. D. Pedris of the Colombo Town Guard who was later
executed at Welikada Prison and a host of others.

Punjabi
soldiers were brought down from India and many innocent Sinhalese were shot at
sight. It was in those dark days that E. W. Perera, an Advocate from Kotte who
gave up his practice to campaign for a greater measure of political freedom,
braved the German mine-infested seas and submarines to carry a secret Memorial
in the soles of his shoes to the Secretary of State to the Colonies, pleading
for the repeal of Martial Law and describing the atrocities committed by the
Punjabis, the local Police led by the then IGP, Sir Herbert Dowbiggin and
British troops on his Sinhala brethren.

E. W.
Perera canvassed his case with influential members of the British Government in
Whitehall and the British Parliament winning success for his case. Soon after
Governor Chalmers was recalled, Martial Law was repealed and a new Governor was
sent here. He was Sir John Anderson who endeavoured to undo the evils committed
by his predecessor and win the hearts and minds of the people.

Some
of the leaders behind E. W. Perera's mission to London were Sir Ponnambalam
Ramanathan and his brother Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam, F. R. Senanayake, D. R.
Wijewardene, A. A. Wickremasinghe of Kegalle and quite a number of other
patriots.

In
these days of communal strife, it is well to remember the heroic manner in
which Ponnambalam Ramanathan and his brother Ponnambalam Arunachalam braved the
might of the British government and boldly addressed public meetings and
gatherings on behalf of the persecuted Sinhalese people. In those days they
appeared as brethren of the Sinhalese.

The
movement for a greater measure of political freedom gathered momentum with the
Ceylon National Congress and its leading lights like Sir James Peiris, E. W.
Jayewardene, D. S. Senanayake and others participating in the agitation.
Leaders of the calibre of D. R. Wijewardene and E. J. Samarawickrema who was
considered the country's greatest chamber lawyer.

It
was Wijewardene and Samarawickrema who operated behind the scenes freely giving
their opinions and drafted many of these letters and memorials to Whitehall
presenting the case for political reforms and a more responsible share of the
government with the people's participation.

Many
people today, especially the youth might not know that the "Daily
News" of those early days was the organ with which its owner D. R.
Wijewardene fought and campaigned for reforms in the political sphere.

It
could be also recalled that the "Daily News" which came out with its
first copy on January 3, 1918 carried on its first page a message from the great
Tamil Leader of the day, Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam exit extolling the virtues
of freedom.

Times
have changed and today, the once free "Daily News" has become the
faithful mouthpiece of whoever is in office.

To
come back to the celebration of 50 years of freedom, a gift which we received
without shedding a drop of blood, it must be mentioned that those who actually
fought for freedom were the political leaders of Indian leaders such as Mahatma
Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Chakravarthy Rajagopalachari, Subhas
Chandra Bose, Sardar Wallabhai Patel, Mrs. Sarojini Naidu and members of the
Indian National Congress languished ties without number in jail and suffered
the lathi blows of the British-controlled Indian Police.

The
name of V. K. Krishna Menon, Nehru's brilliant Minister of Defence and Foreign
Affairs who in those days when Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru and others fought for
Independence through the weapon of "Satyagraha" or non-violence, he
as leader of the India League did the spade work for India's Freedom through
his lectures, speeches and contacts with liberal-minded British
parliamentarians and those with influence with Whitehall, the seat of Britain's
government.

Menon
and his India League in London attracted many socialist-minded young men who
were students in London at Harold Laski's celebrated London School of
Economics. Among them were Dr. N. M. Perera, Philip Gunawardena, Kenya's Jomo
Kenyatta, Ghana's Nkrumah and a host of other talented men who later either
became leaders or prominent political leaders in their own countries.

When
England's Labour Government came into power and Mr. Clement Attlee was Prime
Minister Sri Lanka, then Ceylon was member of the Package, not Dr. G. L. Peiris
much - touted package, through which the Labour Government granted Independence
or compete "Swaraj" as Mahatma Gandhi wanted without any restrictions
whatsoever.

So
Ceylon also just had to follow suit or be part of the package. And after
partition Pakistan was also there.

About
our own story of winning freedom, the Soulbury Commission has to be mentioned
because it was this Commission that laid the framework for our first
Constitution based on complete political freedom called the Soulbury
Constitution. It was Sir Ivor Jennings, that world renowned constitutional
lawyer who was in a big way responsible for drafting this Constitution.

Our
first Prime Minister, Don Stephen Senanayake leaned heavily on Sir Ivor for his
advice on constitutional matters and matters of governance.

In
fact, Prime Minister Senanayake admired Jennings so much that he offered him
the post of first governor-general of Ceylon which was politely turned down by
Sir Ivor, apparently he opted more for the more congenial surroundings of
Cambridge from where he could continue with his writing and research than
Queen's House.

There
was also an interesting story doing the rounds of the early days of the Galle
Face Parliament that our Independence Day also happens to be the Birthday of
Sir Ivor Jennings. D. S. Senanayake who was determined to honour the man is
said to have fixed February Fourth on that score.

The knight in shining armour of
Lankan politics

~
10th Dudley Senanayake Memorial Lecture - Sunday Times Dec 2 2007

British
High Commissioner Dominick Chilcott will deliver the 10th Dudley Senanayake
Memorial Oration at Committee Room A of the BMICH on Monday, December 10 at 6
p.m. This lecture is organized by the Dudley Senanayake Foundation in
co-ordination with the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung, Sri Lanka.

The
late Dudley Senanayake was educated at S. Thomas College, Mount Lavinia, and
later at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He was first elected to the State
Council to represent the Dedigama constituency in 1936; was Minister of
Agriculture in Ceylon's first cabinet after Independence and Prime Minister
three times. He was a cricketer at school and University, and loved music and
photography.

He
was known as the knight in shining armour of Sri Lankan politics, a reluctant
politician, who nevertheless strode the political arena like a colossus till
his death. He was an excellent speaker with a powerful voice and famed for his
wit and repartee in Parliament. This was in a Parliament that had the crème a
la crème of Sri Lankan politicians, many of them educated at British
universities.

He
was respected for his loyalty to his party even when he was temporarily out of
politics and refused office when offered to him by another party which was in
power. In these days of political crossovers for high office, his example is a
good one for young aspiring politicians to emulate.

British
High Commissioner Dominick Chilcott who delivers the oration on this occasion
was born in Hong Kong in 1959, and is the son of a regular Army officer. He was
educated at St. Joseph's College, Ipswich and at Greyfriars Hall, Oxford, where
he got a 2nd class Honours degree in Philosophy and Theology. He first served
the Royal Navy as a Midshipman for one year and joined the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office in 1982 where he served as Director Europe, and Director of
Iraqi Planning. He has served abroad in Brussels, Lisbon and Ankara and in
several other important posts in the Foreign and Commonwealth office. His
posting to Colombo was his first in South East Asia and his first as Head of
Mission.

Something
which has endeared him to people in every posting is that he has learned the
language of the country and spoken in it too. He leaves Colombo in January for
Washington where he will serve as No. 2 in the British Embassy. His subject for
the oration is 'The New Diplomacy in the New Century'.

Previous
speakers at this annual event have been David Steel, MP, former Leader of the
British Liberal Party, Sir Russell Johnston MP, Deputy Leader of the British
Liberal Democrats, Dr. Zach de Beer MP, Leader of the Democratic Party South
Africa, Steingrimur Hermannsonn, MP, Prime Minister of Iceland, Earl Russell,
spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, House of Lords, Otto Count Lamsdorff, MP,
Chairman Friedrich Naumann Stiftung Foundation and former leader, Free
Democratic Party, Germany and Past President, Liberal International, Bradman
Weerakoon, former secretary to 8 Prime Ministers, Ranil Wickremesinghe, Leader
of the Opposition and Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama.
(IMK)

Flight to destiny

Sunday
Times Feb 4 2007

We
reproduce an article that appeared in The Sunday Times Millennium Supplement,
Past Times

Gamani
Corea spoke to Feizal Samath of that memorable trip with D.S. before
Independence

It
was 1945 and young Gamini Corea like many others was preparing for the arduous
sea voyage to Cambridge University in England where he had secured a place for
higher studies.

That
was the time local students made their way by sea to England for advanced studies,
in the absence of commercial flights. Little did Corea realize then, that this
trip to England would create history and pave the way for Sri Lanka’s
Independence from British colonial rule!

Corea,
an excellent student who had passed the London Inter-Science Economics Exam and
would later become one of Sri Lanka’s most distinguished personalities, had
applied for a passage on the convoy of ships that made the journey to England.
His university term was beginning in October 1945.

He
had obtained a place in Corpus Christi College in Cambridge but delayed his
departure for two years due to the war. Ships, in which passengers were housed
in cabins that had several but rather uncomfortable bunkers, went in convoys,
as a precaution since the Japanese war was on, though the German war was over.
However, one evening around June, Corea’s grandmother, Mrs. Alice Kotelawala,
returned home after a meeting with Don Stephen Senanayake, then Minister of
Agriculture and Lands and Leader of the House, with some interesting news.

Corea
was staying with his grandmother at her Horton Place residence, where the
world-renowned economist continues to live today.

Senanayake
had told Mrs. Kotelawala that he was flying to England on a mission in July,
and on learning that Corea was also going there - though much later - had
invited Corea to join him (Senanayake).

“I
was elated,” recalled Corea. “I went to meet Mr. Senanayake after that and
asked whether it was okay to come along. He said it was perfectly in order but
that I had to pay for my ticket.”

Senanayake,
subsequently the first Prime Minister of Ceylon, had been invited by the
British Government to discuss the Soulbury Commission report, which paved the
way for the British to grant Independence to Ceylon in 1948. The minister was
to be accompanied by Arthur Ranasinghe, former head of treasury and now working
under Senanayake, his personal physician Dr. David Silva and personal valet,
Carolis.

British
authorities had offered an entire plane for Senanayake and his delegation to
fly to England and the minister, in view of the space available, had offered a
seat to Corea and Ernie Goonetilleke, son of Oliver Goonetilleke, who was also
going to Cambridge for studies. The elder Goonetilleke, the first Sri Lankan
Governor General, was then the Civil Defence Commissioner.

“I
was excited to be flying for the first time and all of a sudden I had to
advance my arrangements since I was going to England at least three months
ahead of schedule,” said Corea. The youngster was planning to stay with a Sri
Lankan doctor and his wife, Alfred and Carmel Gunasekera. The doctor was
practising and residing in West Hampstead.

All
hell broke loose after the newspapers ran a story saying Mr. Senanayake was
going to London with an official delegation. The names of the delegates,
including that of Corea and Goonetilleke, were also listed.

“There
was a big furore in the State Council. Mr. W. Dahanayake, a vociferous critic
of the government, denounced this move saying it is family bandyism, nepotism
and so on and said MSC does not stand for members of the State Council but for
‘Members of the Senanayake Caucus,” laughed Corea.

Matters
were not helped by the chief secretary. He defended the move, saying these two
young men were qualified and competent enough to assist Senanayake.

More
embarrassment followed. "Mr. Senanayake's schoolboy secretaries"
screamed a headline in a newspaper editorial, criticizing the appointment of
the two youngsters on the delegation. What ran through Corea’s mind at that
time? “Well, I was young and was embarrassed that I was receiving so much
publicity. On the other hand, I wasn’t worried because I knew nothing wrong was
done. As a result of it I received a lot of visibility in the press.”

Corea
vividly remembers the day he landed in England the 13th of July 1945. But the
trip, in a RAF York bomber transport plane that still had camouflage paint,
took three days, as night flying was not permitted then. There were only six
passengers on board. They took off from Ratmalana airport and reached Karachi
for the night. Corea - feeling cold since it was his first flight - continued
to wear the pullover knitted by his grandmother in the hot mid-summer evening
in Karachi, drawing curious stares from people.

The
next night was spent in Cairo, before the group flew via Malta to an RAF
military airfield in Bristol in England. Senanayake’s delegation was put up at
the Grosvenor House hotel in London.

The
next morning, Senanayake took the two youngest members of the delegation to Dr.
Gunasekera’s house where they stayed thereafter. But Corea, keen to find out
what was happening with regard to the negotiations, daily took the under-ground
train from West Hampstead to London to meet up with Senanayake who, unlike
other somewhat taciturn members of the delegation, chatted freely about the
goings-on.

“I
was interested in the events,” said Corea, noting that Senanayake’s discussions
were delayed in London as their arrival occurred at a time when a change of
government was taking place. The Sri Lankan delegation had to stay longer than
anticipated.

The
elections, under the government of Winston Churchill, were over when the
delegation arrived in England. When the results were announced a few days
later, the Labour Party had surprisingly clinched victory.

It
was Senanayake who gave Corea his first glimpse of Cambridge. Senanayake had
been invited by Sir Ivor Jennings, a former head of the University College in
Colombo, to visit Cambridge. After his meetings with Jennings, Senanayake took
Corea along to Corpus Christi College to meet Corea’s future tutor, Mr. H.D.P.
Lee.

It
turned out that Senanayake’s two sons, Dudley and Robert, had also studied at
Corpus Christi College before the war. The conversation turned personal with Lee,
initially polite and courteous, becoming quite animated and warm, on realizing
Senanayake’s links with the college.

More
than 50 years after the event, Corea - now a top UN retiree whose last UN job
was Secretary-General of UNCTAD - still remembers many of the things that
happened on that historical trip with Senanayake. “I particularly remember the
flight over Cairo. Unlike today, planes didn’t fly at great heights then and we
could see everything the Persian Gulf, desert sands and oil pipelines. It was a
beautiful sight. I also remember bomb-damaged London with all its austerity.”

Sunday
Times Mar 20 2011

Imprisonment

One of the famous names associated
with Sri Lanka’s freedom struggle, was F.R. Senanayake. The book ‘Deshabandhu
F.R.Senanayake’ by Jayasena Dahanayaka, translated into English by W.G.
Dharmasiri is a meticulous retelling of the life and times of one of the
country’s national heroes who was in the vanguard of the national resurgence
in an era of repressive colonial rule. Published here is an extracts from the
chapter titled ‘Imprisonment’ which relates the happenings in the aftermath
of the riots of 1915. A Vijitha Yapa publication, the biography will be
launched on March 22

The British rulers who did not pay any heed to the rights,
responsibilities and necessities of Buddhists, executed every scheme possible
to undermine Buddhist power and suspected the Sinhala-Muslim Riots from its
beginning as a movement to oppose the government.

These rulers who suspected Sinhala leaders and Buddhist societies and
organizations without any basis, charged them unjustifiably, without making
inquiries. On 8th June 1915 at about 12 noon these rulers sent a Town Guard,
a Police Inspector and two Punjabi soldiers to the house of Mr. F. R.
Senanayake and made a search in every nook and corner.

F.R. Senanayake: In the vanguard
of national resurgence

They searched for secret anti-government documents and weapons, but none
of these was found there. In short, not only was there nothing to charge Mr.
Senanayake with, but there was nothing to suspect him, and therefore those
officers went away empty handed. On this day, simultaneously, the houses of
Mr. D.C. Senanayake, Mr. D.S. Senanayake and Mr. D.B. Jayatilake were
searched in a similar manner.

The rulers who were not satisfied with this, detailed Punjabi soldiers who
could not speak a word of the Sinhala language to search the houses of
Sinhala Buddhists. Those soldiers who followed the Sikh religion acted in a
cruel manner against the Buddhists.

Under suspicion

Even the coconut scrapers found in their houses were considered weapons.
On this occasion, all anti-liquor heroes who were associated with the Anti-liquor
movement, and the members of those societies along with their officials were
subject to suspicion by the British. In the Secret Report submitted to the
government on 6th August 1915 by the Inspector General of Police at that
time, Mr. H. L. Dowbiggin, it is seen that charges were brought against the
Buddhist Theosophical Society, Young Men’s Buddhist Association and the
Anti-liquor Society and their officials.

In his Secret Report he had mentioned that these societies were bent on
political more than religious activities and that the two societies Buddhist
Theosophical Society and Young Men’s Buddhist Association were political
organizations masquerading in the form of religious organizations. The IGP
aimed direct charges against the Anti-liquor Society formed by the three
Senanayake brothers D.C., F.R., and D.S. together with the people of Mirigama
and Attanagalla. Mr. Dowbiggin who stated that the other Anti-liquor branch
societies in the island too were connected with the riots, had reported that charges
could not be brought against a minority of citizens who were associated with
the Anti-liquor Society.

In a letter sent to the G.A. Central Province dated 5th June 1915, by the
A.G.A. Matale it is stated that during this riot, the Sinhalese had
complained against the Sinhalese due to personal enmities and were making use
of the available opportunity. The rulers were enraged to the point where they
would arrest any Sinhala person accused by a Muslim even falsely, but no one
charged Mr. Senanayake.

F.R. who won the hearts of all and treated all as equals did not have
enemies but friends. On 30th October 1915 he made a statement saying that the
Government had tried all means to name him an accused, and that among the
Sinhalese, Muslims or any other nationality he had no enemies. He was pleased
on account of this, and living as a free individual, would work for the
betterment of the country.

F.R. taken in

At this time when the soldiers started capturing the Sinhala people and
killing them, all those people who took the lead in religious and social
activities were arrested without any inquiry. Accordingly, on 21st June at
about 5.30 in the morning a Town Guard came and stopped his motor vehicle in
front of Kewstoke house, and declared that he had come to arrest Mr.
Senanayake. Having heard the officer’s words, Mr. Senanayake went into his
bedroom close to the verandah and asked him to wait till he changed his
clothes, but the officer refused his request and ordered him to “come in
those clothes”. As it was not judicious to ignore the Town Guard’s order, he
got into the motor vehicle and set out for Welikada prison.

At the entrance to the prison Mr. Senanayake was handed over to the
Superintendent of Police, Daniel, by the Town Guard. He examined this
gentleman in custody. Subsequently, he handed over Mr. Senanayake to the
prison authorities saying that the latter was a captive who should be
imprisoned. Then Mr. A.C. Olnet, the Army Special Commissioner, asked a
number of questions from the suspect who was to be put in prison.

F.R. answered all of his questions without hesitation. The Army Special
Commissioner who was not satisfied with this, put him inside a designated
“penal cell” and locked him up. There were about 150 such cells. All of them
were very unclean. In the cell Mr. Senanayake was put, there was a toilet and
the foul smell emanating from it was awful. He had to stay as mentioned, in
this cell for about 20 hours daily. He had never stayed in a dirty place like
this in his life, and refused the lunch given to him in a tin dish as it was
unclean. F. R. who was without food for two days was given permission on 23rd
June to get down food from his home.

Rounding up Buddhist leaders

On the day F.R.was taken in to custody, Messrs Arthur V. Dias, D. B.
Jayatilake, doctors W. A. de Silva and C. A. Hewavitarne too were arrested
and put in prison. As recorded in a secret government document on 17th August
1915, these Buddhist leaders were taken into custody without any inquiry.
This is stated in several government documents dated 28th March, 3rd May and
22nd August 1916. The A. G. A. of Matale at that time has recorded these
arrests in his official diary as follows: “Army soldiers had taken into
custody innocent villagers who have not committed any offence. They had
accused some suspects without any criminal involvement and shot them under
Martial Law. The rulers who suspected the Sinhalese strongly, took innocent
persons into custody at their will and lodged false charges against all of
them.” The following statement made by Mr. D.S.Senanayake on 30th October
1915 clarifies how far the rulers strived to level charges at people.

In DS’s words

“I am a proprietary planter and a graphite businessman. When I was at home
on the 8th June, at about 12 noon a Town Guard, Police Inspector and two
armed Punjabi soldiers came in a motor vehicle to my house and informed me
that they wanted to search my house. They called all of us in the house to
the dining hall and sent out the servants and asked us to stay there. The two
Punjab soldiers were guarding us. The Town Guard and the Police Inspector
searched the house minutely. But no secret documents or weapons suspected by
the Government were found in my house. Therefore they went away. On 21st
June, a Town Guard came to my house at about 5.30 early in the morning along
with two armed Punjab soldiers, woke me up and without allowing me to go to
the toilet as usual, took me to the Welikada prison and there I saw a number
of notables had been taken into custody.

There they examined me and put me in a cell. There was no place for me to
sit. There was no bench or chair. I had to wait for a number of hours until I
got something to sit on. A prison attendant took me to the Special Army
Commissioner. Informing me that I had to make a statement, he asked me
several questions that could incriminate me and others. I have not committed
any offence. As far as I know, the other leaders too have done no wrong.

Edward Henry Pedris

Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan

After he asked questions to his heart's content, he made me enter the cell
which had no facilities. Other leaders were taken away and were put into
cells. As we were in solitary imprisonment there was no one to talk to or
dispel our solitude. At noon on that day a servant who was there, pushed some
food under the door in an unclean tin plate. Having seen it I got thoroughly
disgusted.

Naturally, I could not eat such dirty food. Therefore I stayed hungry.
After two days I got permission to get down food from outside. We prisoners
were taken to the Police Headquarters and questioned about our public service
work. On the occasion we went there, I sent a message to Advocate C.
Batuwantudawe to meet me on behalf of Mr. P. Ramanathan. I had been charged
for instigating the public in the riot as a leader of the Anti-liquor
Movement. But the government did not have sufficient evidence to present
against me to prove charges ..........”

By 21st June, 86 persons including Messrs Piyadasa Sirisena, Proctor John
de Silva, Richard Salgado, Walter Salgado, P.C.H. Dias and Harry Dias had
been imprisoned. By this time, along with Mr. P. S. Tissera who was a friend
of Mr. Senanayake arrested at Hanwella on 2nd June as mentioned earlier,
Boralugoda Ralahamy (father of Phillip Gunawardene) who was over 60 years old
and Romanis Perera were in prison.

According to the charges levelled against the school teacher, the Court
Marshal had decided to hang him at Welikada prison on 18th July 1915.

This was a great mental agony for Mr. Senanayake. The school teacher
stated, clearing tears in his eyes, remembering the past events in respect of
that noble leader of men. He could not bear up the intense sorrow,
recollecting that his friend who went to Hanwella at his request did not have
a chance to go home, was imprisoned, and above all condemned to capital
punishment. The school teacher had added that he came to know that this
leader of men had told Mr. Piyadasa Sirisena that he would agree to offer his
own life in place of the school teacher.

The leaders who were taken into custody and those condemned to capital
punishment were imprisoned in the hall named “L Hall”. During his
imprisonment Mr. Senanayake was allowed to come out of the cell and was free
to move about for three or four hours in the prison. During this time he
advised the other prisoners and consoled them. The school teacher said, the
Welikada prison was the “centre for training” where “ F.R.” stayed to acquire
knowledge and learn about distress in life.
There was an incident where this leader of men who had a mind filled up with
patriotism and love for the country, was severely grieved and shocked.

That special day was 7th July 1915. This is how the school master who was
a prisoner condemned to death in Welikada prison described that occasion, “A
prison attendant who came to us at about 7.00 in the morning on that day told
us ‘ in a short time Mr. Edward Henry Pedris will be shot’. At about 7.30 in
the morning, an officer of the prison called all of us including other
notables, out from the individual cells we were put in up to that time, and
ordered us to stand in a line in the verandah of L Hall.

Edward Henry Pedris’s last hours

“We stood in line. Two soldiers carrying rifles fitted with bayonets
walked on both sides of a slim good looking handsome young man escorting him
in front of us and led him out. The young man walking in Town Guard’s uniform
was handcuffed. The Army Special Commissioner Mr. A.C. Olnet walked behind
him. Mr. Pedris without any fear or hesitation, in his usual manner, walked
with body erect in such a way that the Sinhala race would be honoured. He
went on that last journey proudly and courageously. We were eagerly looking
at him till he disappeared. The sorrow, grief and regret that overcame us was
so deep that it could not be described. At that time, I who was condemned to
death was quivering with fear. I cannot explain in words the fear that arose
in me. It came to my mind that Alas! in another 11 days I too will have to go
on this fearful journey. I felt my whole body trembling.”

My good friend F. R. consoled me in sorrow and advised me always saying
that ‘if you are fortunate enough to be born into this world, you will be
freed from capital punishment on account of the strategies adopted by me’. I
was given a lease of life. I saw Mr. Senanayake who was advising and
encouraging me grieving, crying and shedding tears. An eyewitness account of
an officer states that when they were getting ready to cover Mr. Pedris’ face
with a handkerchief when he was led out and made to sit in a chair he had
fearlessly refused it and he had put forward his chest without an iota of
fear.

Sharp at 8.00 o’clock in the morning the sound of a gunshot was heard. We
heard that four soldiers who lined up a few fathoms in front of him had fired
at the scheduled time. On that occasion the whole prison turned out to be one
funeral house.

About 20 minutes passed after the sound of gunshots. A prison attendant
came before us carrying a chair wet with blood. That chair brought by him
brushed against the bodies of several persons who were there. It was the
chair in which the young Pedris sat. It was bathed with his blood. The Army
Special Commissioner quickly followed the attendant who brought the chair.

He showed the chair to Mr. F. R. Senanayake and said ‘F.R.! Any person who
commits an act of treason against the government by forming organizations
like the so-called Anti-liquor Movement will have to die facing such a fate
as this.”

Our hero asked him, “ What did you say? ‘facing such a fate as this……’ Are
you such a cowardly and timid nation to shoot one of our young men and bring
the chair splashed with his blood?

“Aren’t you ashamed to parade the results of your foolish and stupid act
to us when we are sorrowing at the demise of one of our people? Each drop of
blood of this young man Pedris whom I treat as one of my own should be
considered as sacrificed in the name of the nation. If the stream of blood
wetting that chair is counted in drops of blood, the British will definitely
have to pay compensation.” When these words were expressed by Mr. Senanayake,
Mr. Olnet looked on motionless........

There was one occasion which afforded Mr. Senanayake some happiness when
he was in prison. That was on 18th July 1915. It was revoking the capital
punishment passed on his friend Mr. Tissera, the School Master who
accompanied him to Hanwella at his request and was subsequently arrested. In
the afternoon of 17th July, a telegram sent from Britain to the Governor
ordering him to give a lease of life to all those condemned to death, was
received.

The sentence of capital punishment in respect of the School Master was
withdrawn accordingly. This telegram was the result of Mr. Senanayake’s
far-seeing wisdom that had sent Mr. E.W. Perera to England. The basis for
pronouncing the sentence of capital punishment on the School Master was an
incident where the Sinhala people were said to have harassed the Muslims
living in the Hanwella and Atigala area and damaged their shops, and houses.
By then, several persons arrested at Hanwella on 2nd June were hanged in this
manner. Another group was sentenced to life imprisonment19.

The crimes, corruption, loss and damage carried out by the rulers of this
country over three months from 2nd June 1915 to 30th August without any
justifiable reason, as a result of paying heed to slander and suspecting
people unjustly, cannot be enumerated. If Governor Chalmers and IGP Dowbiggin
acted like persons with discerning intellect, this terrible calamity could
have been stopped at the beginning.

It was Mr. Senanayake who prominently steered this battle. He became the
symbol of the national struggle, that was the objective, hope and aspiration
of all people. One cannot state accurately how many Sinhala people were
killed in this riot. The statistics presented by the Government authorities
are different from one another. The Governor, in reply to a question in the
State Council has stated that 412 were arrested under Martial Law and 358
were punished.

Another Government document states that 39 Sinhalese were killed.
According to Army statistics, the death toll was 66. Police reports state
that 4,855 were arrested and 3,573 were brought before the civil courts. The
book Hundred days in Ceylon under Martial Law records that 8,428 persons were
arrested and cases were filed in civil courts against 8,016 out of them and
that 5% and 95 % of the accused were brought before Court Martial and Civil
Courts respectively. A record of the Registrar General at that time dated
14th October 1915 states that 63 rioters may have been killed to suppress the
riot.

According to another secret document of the Government, 412 persons were
arrested, 54 out of them were freed later, 83 were sentenced to death and the
rest were imprisoned. Only 26 out of those who were sentenced to death were
punished by Court Martial27. The above-mentioned statistics and documents
clearly show that no count was correctly taken of the number of Sinhala
Buddhists who were killed. It is suspect whether they were careless or
whether they did not give correct statistics in order to cover their guilt.

However, when one ponders over the incidents that had taken place at that
time, it is felt that these officers had treated the Sinhalese as they would
flies and mosquitoes.

Mr. Senanayake who was without food and drink from the dawn of 21st June
until noon of the 23rd, got down his lunch from home and took it after
sharing it with a few who were there. Mrs. Ellen Senanayake consoled herself
a little by fondling tiny tots Gothabhaya, Nedra and Tissa, their three
children and stayed at home, grief-stricken due to the imprisonment of her
beloved husband. He sent a messenger from the prison requesting meals to be
sent to the jail sufficient for ten to fifteen persons for breakfast, lunch
and dinner. Accordingly, she accepted her husband’s request with devotion and
affection, sent food and drinks prepared by herself, for forty-four days. The
young man John Lionel Kotelawala, who became the third Prime Minister of
Ceylon, stayed with his aunt (Mrs. Senanayake) as she was alone. It was this
playful young man who carried meals to the jail on many occasions.

Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan who witnessed the numerous forms of harassment
the Sinhala community underwent due to the proclamation of Martial Law, made
the following speech in the State Council on 11th August 1915: “That there
was only one Police Superintendent in Colombo at the time of the start of the
riot and out of the 674 police constables who were detailed to protect the
town and look after the peace, 180 were sent to Kandy town which was peaceful
at that time and this was a foolish act of the authorities. Not only that,
the IGP who was specially responsible for the protection of the capital city had
gone to Kandy with a group of soldiers. If the IGP stayed in Colombo, it was
clear that such a big loss would not have occurred.

The three ASPs stayed in their positions but did not act intelligently”.
If the Police officers had acted wisely, there would not have been so much
damage. He added that the Police officers were just watching the offenders
and did not take appropriate steps, and if punishments were meted out under
Martial Law, it was not the people but the Police who should be punished. Sir
Ponnambalam Ramanathan made a long fiery speech for a few hours adducing
reasons for the innocence of the Sinhala public and the indifferent attitude
of the Government. The British MP Harry Creasy while agreeing with Sir
Ramanthan’s speech, censured the inefficiency of the Police.

(The book Deshabandhu FR Senanayake priced at Rs. 1000 will be
available at Vijitha Yapa book shops)